Secret Santa
by NaleyWriter23
Summary: Normally Nathan would have no issue with sticking a twenty dollar bill into an envelope and calling it a day, but this year is different. This year he has her as his secret Santa- the woman he's been secretly in love with since he was a student at Tree Hill High.


I'll be the first to admit this is far from my best work, but I wanted to post something for the Holidays and I was asked to write a naley secret santa story. I hope you enjoy and have a happy holiday season/new year!

. . .

The last day of work before Christmas break always seems to be the craziest- especially in a high school. Hormonal teens are ramped up on Candy Canes and desperate to trade gifts with their friends. Nobody- not even the teachers- can focus on anything other than the ticking clock as they anxiously await the 2:35 dismissal bell.

Except for Nathan Scott.

He is dreading the end of the day; it's the Holiday Work Party and he hasn't gotten his Secret Santa gift yet. Normally he would have no issue with sticking a twenty dollar bill into an envelope and calling it a day, but this year is different. This year he has _her_ as his secret Santa- the woman he's been secretly in love with since he was a student at Tree Hill High.

What do you get for the woman you're in love? He spent the last two weeks searching for the perfect present and hasn't come up with anything worthy enough. He went to every store within a twenty-mile radius of Tree Hill and found absolutely nothing.

The party was in about five hours and he still had nothing. Not even an idea of something. He was absolutely screwed.

Nathan sank in his desk chair and groaned miserably. A group of choir students passed by in the hall belting out a poorly synchronized version of Jingle Bell Rock while delivering personalized Candy Canes to students.

Maybe Nathan could just buy Haley a candy cane with a handwritten note professing his love for her.

He groaned again. He was absolutely hopeless.

"Hey, Nate!" There was a knock on his door. He looked up and mustered a smile; it was Clay Evans- an economics teacher and one of Nathan's best friends. "You ready for my famous Spiked Eggnog tonight?"

Nathan fretfully dragged his palms over his hardened face, "actually, I could probably use some right now."

Clay smirked, "I know what you mean. My last period was a killer. Jessica Mason sobbed for a solid twenty minutes because Kyle George didn't get her a candy cane. I'm like, save the drama for your theatre class."

He chuckled softly, "surprisingly my students haven't been too bad today."

Clay rolled his eyes, "that's because you're a gym teacher. Kids are supposed to be hyper in your class."

"True," Nathan mumbled distractedly as he began to drum his fingers against the wooden desk.

"What's on your mind, man?"

"I still don't know what to get Haley."

Clay's blue eyes drained of their typical mischievous glint; "dude, you haven't gotten her a secret Santa gift yet? You do know the party's at 6 tonight, right?"

Nathan threw his head back, hitting the edge of the chair harder than he'd expected. "That's why I'm freaking out!"

Clay grimaced as he gently leaned on the trophy display case, studying Nathan's stressful state. "Just run to the mall after ninth period and pick something out. Get her a candle or some shit. Girls love that stuff."

A shadow of a scoff descended across Nathan's face, "I'm not getting her a candle, Clay. She deserves something better than that."

Clay snickered, "you are so far gone on that girl."

"I need to get her the perfect gift."

"Did you ask her what she wants?"

"No," Nathan rolled his eyes, "I don't want her to know it's from me."

"Well that's good- if you get her something stupid, she'll never have to know."

"But I don't want to get her something stupid. I want to get her something special."

Clay's laughs reverberated around the small office, "you're such a chick!"

"Shut up, Clay! I need help!"  
"Okay, okay," Clay help his palms up in mock surrender, "how about lingerie?"

Nathan nearly choked on his own breath, "lingerie?" The image of Haley in a little red thong sent all his blood rushing south. He shifted tensely.

"Yeah, then she'll figure out that you're into her."

He inhaled a steadying breath, "that doesn't really seem appropriate… besides, Haley's not that type of girl and I want to tell her I'm in love with her; not that I only want to hook-up."

Clay shrugged, "how about a bottle of wine then?"

"I thought about that but it seems impersonal."

"What exactly are you trying to go for?"

"If I could give her the world, I would- but that still doesn't seem like enough," Nathan sighed. He wished he got anyone else for Secret Santa; heck, he wouldn't mind old Ms. Stewartson who complains about everything. That would even be a lot less pressure than buying a gift for Haley James.

"You're overthinking it, man. Just get her something you know she'd like. Haven't you been friends for a while?"

"That's just it- I don't want to be friends anymore. I want more. And now that she and that tool Josh broke up, it's time I make my move."

Clay nodded; he knew just how long Nathan has been pining over the young, attractive English teacher.

"Why don't you go to a jewelry store? You can get her something nice. Maybe an engagement ring."

Nathan picked up a small rubber basketball from his desk and chucked it at Clay, who just barely caught it while laughing wildly. "You're no help."

"Fine, fine. Good luck showing up empty handed tonight. That'll be a great ice breaker," he goaded with a teasing grin.

"Just get out of here," Nathan shook his head with a sarcastic smile. His next class was about to start and he had to rush to the gym. It would be a good distraction from worrying, or he could use the time to think more about what to get Haley. Either way, he had to figure something out. The Holiday party was fast approaching.

. . .

At 6:06 pm, Nathan Scott rushed into Tric, completely out of breath. He didn't know how, but he somehow managed to find Haley a gift (and wrap it!), get ready, and make it to the party all within three hours- only six minutes late.

His secret Santa gift was clenched tightly beneath his arm as he discreetly attempted to add it to the gift table without Haley noticing. Fortunately, he went unnoticed and gently dropped the haphazardly wrapped present onto the growing pile of presents. Nathan smiled at the way he managed to disguise his handwriting to scribble Haley's name on top of the red wrapping paper. It was a small package but he was pretty happy with it, especially considering he found it at the last possible minute (seriously, he was just about to give up entirely and get a gift card, when it caught his eye and instantly knew she'd love it). Or, at least he desperately hoped she would love it. Crap, now he was second guessing himself again. Oh well, he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed towards the, thankfully, free bar- it's the least administration could do after all the audits this month.

Nathan ordered himself a Whiskey neat and scanned his eyes among the throngs of teachers. It was a bit odd considering some of his co-workers were his old teachers, but at least Principal Turner hired some new, younger people this year (and one of them was Haley).

He tried to find her without appearing overly zealous- quite a bit of the teachers had caught on to his obvious crush and made it the joke of the break room. It was only a matter of time before she found out, too. Nathan just hoped she would feel the same way, but, if she didn't, at least his dignity would remain intact because the whole point of secret Santa was that it could remain a secret forever. He could deny the gift was from him. With that thought, he took a long, hard swig.

"Hey man, didn't think I'd see you here," Clay and his wife Sara saddled up next to him at the bar.

Nathan jabbed Clay in the gut before greeting Sara with a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Did you find the perfect gift?" Clay asked.

Nathan hid his smile by taking a long sip of Whiskey. "I think so."

"What'd you get?"

"I guess you'll see when everyone else does," he mumbled behind his glass. Just as he was about to take another hard swallow, his gaze swept across the bar and landed on Haley. He immediately started to choke, spewing the Whiskey straight into the air like projectile vomit. There she stood in a silky red dress, long enough to be modest but just short enough to show off her shapely and oh-so-sexy legs.

"You good?" Clay asked with an amused laugh as he started to pat Nathan's back to relieve him from choking.

Nathan couldn't find the words if he wanted to; they were strangled in the back of his throat, drowning among the remnants of Whiskey.

"W-wow," his eyes trailed Haley's angelic form; her honey blonde hair was lightly curled and fell just past her shoulders, curtaining her soft face. He was still trying to catch his breath when her large brown eyes collided with his Pacific Ocean gaze.

She gave him a half-crescent smile and he swears he forgot how to breathe all over again. All he could think to do was wave as Clay watched with a series of snickers, only to be interrupted when Sara elbowed him in the stomach. Haley's cheeks soon matched the color of her dress and Nathan instantly beckoned the bartender over to order her a glass of Merlot.

"Here she comes," Clay whispered eagerly and Nathan felt his stomach start to compete in the gymnastic portion of the Olympics.

"Hey guys! Merry Christmas!" Haley greeted them each with a hug- Nathan silently cheered when their hug lasted longer than Clay and Sara's combined.

"Merry Christmas, Ms. James," Clay smirked as Nathan struggled to still find words. "How are you?"

"Good! I love Christmas time," she gushed, catching Nathan's eye again. "How are you?"

He ignored her question and immediately blurted out the first thing that came to mind- the only thing on his mind: "you look so beautiful."

Red rushed to her cheeks again, "thank you."

"Oh, this is for you," he stuck out the glass of wine and watched as she smiled in gratitude.

"Thank you."

"Well, it was nice to see you Haley, but we're going to grab some food," Sara interjected, sensing that Nathan and Haley were in their own little world. Clay stuck out his tongue but neither Nathan nor Haley noticed. Sara giggled- she'd been cheering for them since she met them.

"Okay, we'll catch up later!" Haley waved quickly before sliding onto the now empty stool next to Nathan. "So, what's up Scott?"

"Not much," he wiped his sweaty palms against his khakis. "Just here for the free booze."

Haley laughed- music to Nathan's ears. "And here I was thinking you were here for Ms. Stewartson." His laughter joined hers; it was an inside joke between them. They both had her as a French teacher back in junior year of high school. It was no secret the older woman hated him.

"You guessed it!" He joked.

"So, who'd you have for secret Santa?"

Nathan blanched but did his best to remain coy, "it's a secret."

"Oh come on," she feigned annoyance, "tell me!"

He almost cracked when she wrapped her arms around his shoulder. Was she feeling him up?

He shifted in the stool in an attempt to conceal his arousal.

"My lips are sealed," he shook his head and mimed zipping his lips.

She huffed childishly, "you're no fun!"

"Well, who did you have for Secret Santa?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she gave him a flirty wink before sipping her wine.

"You're no fun," he mocked, but the wide smile on his lips said otherwise. Their flirty conversation was abruptly cut-off by Principal Turner's yearly holiday speech; the one where he drones on and on about how proud he is of everyone and that they made it to another year.

Nathan made some jokes under his breath, causing Haley to erupt in a fit of giggles- Principal Turner shot a few deathly stares, but neither seemed to care. They weren't students anymore.

After a thirty-minute speech that easily could have been said in two minutes, Principal Turner announced the start of secret Santa: he would draw a name from a hat and that person would find the present with their name on it and guess who got it for them.

Nathan's heart started to race. He was suddenly overcome with nausea and was itching for another Whiskey- unfortunately, the bartender was nowhere to be found. So much for the unlimited free booze.

He watched with a shaky leg as each one of his co-workers was called up; some guessed correctly, some not. Soon enough, his name was called and Haley cheered as he approached the small stage. Nathan honestly had no idea who his secret Santa was, nor did he really mind. He was mostly nervous for Haley's name to be called.

His gaze quickly searched the table of gifts and found his name written neatly on a small white envelope. He picked it up and tore it open, grinning widely when he found a pair of Charlotte Hornets tickets. Whoever his secret Santa was definitely knew him well.

"Clay?"

No- it couldn't have been. Clay had the science teacher, Gina Morris. Unless he lied?

Clay shook his head, "no, it wasn't me."

"Check the card," Principal Turner advised. It was then that Nathan realized there was another slip of paper in the envelope behind the tickets.

Nathan,

I know how much you love basketball and I always imagined you'd play for this team (since when did the Bobcats become the Hornets?) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the game!

Merry Christmas, xo

His heart leapt through his chest; it was Haley.

She was on the edge of the barstool, lip pressed between her teeth, anxiously awaiting for him to come to the conclusion.

"Haley!" He called out.

She nodded anxiously and watched as he ran over to her with an infectious grin. "Thank you so much!"

"You really like it?" Haley questioned, "I wasn't sure what to get you- I wanted to get you something I knew you loved and I spent so long trying to find something. I even asked Lucas for advice-"

"I love it. Thank you, Hales," he beamed. "Really. It's the best gift."

"Okay, good," she smiled with relief. "Um, I was actually hoping we can go together."

His eyebrows rose and the glee in his eyes twinkled, "yeah? I didn't know you liked basketball."

"I don't- I mean, I don't really know a lot but I was hoping you could teach me."

As if he could say no to that cute little smile oozing with hope and shyness.

"I would love nothing more than if we went together," he beamed back at her and they shared a quick hug, once again cut off by Turner calling out Haley's name.

Nathan's excitement was short-lived- it turned to dread as quickly as water turned to ice in the winter. He watched with a baited breath as Haley tore open her gift and gasped. She was rendered utterly speechless and tears sprung to her eyes like a rain shower. It was the original copy of her favorite play-Anna Karenina. She'd lost her copy in high school and was devastated. Her father had given it to her just before he passed away of a tragic heart attack. She spent years looking for it but eventually gave up.

But it wasn't the book that made her cry- it was what was written on the inside: a transcription of her favorite quote in the novel, " _I've always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be."_

Haley clenched her eyes shut and hugged the book close to her chest. God, she prayed her secret Santa was Nathan but she couldn't know for sure. It didn't look like his handwriting. She looked across the room and studied him. His head was bent as he fiddled with his hands. She didn't even have a chance to guess because Turner had already drawn the next name from the hat.

Nathan couldn't handle the anticipation; he had to get out of there. The walls were closing in on him. He felt like he was going to vomit.

In the distance, he could hear Clay's voice "you got her a book?"

What had he done?

He bolted out of Tric and found the nearest exit.

Haley watched in shock as Nathan ran. She chased after him and caught his hand just as he was about to step outside.

"Was it you?" She whispered breathlessly, still clutching the book.

Nathan licked his lips. She was so damn beautiful. He nodded softly and smiled when she launched herself into his arms. Next thing he knew, her lips were on his and they were kissing. Her tongue slipped between his lips and she moaned just loud enough for him to hear over the hum of the Christmas music.

She pulled away, breathless and smiling. "Thank you, Nathan. This means everything to me."

"I wanted to find you the perfect gift- something that would tell you how I feel about you."

She placed her palm on his cheek and kissed him softly again. "This is perfect, and I love you, too."

"You do?" He nearly squealed.

Haley giggled, "I do. Sorry the basketball tickets didn't really convey that-,"

"It's okay. It can be our first date," he smirked against her red lips.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she whispered as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Merry Christmas, Haley James."

"Merry Christmas, secret Santa."


End file.
